Ballast cribber

ABSTRACT

BALLAST CRIBBING APPARATUS INCLUDING A VEHICLE HAVING WHEELS ADAPTED TO TRAVEL ON THE RAILS OF A RAILROAD RIGHT OF WAYS, A CRIBBING ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A GENERALLY VERTICAL POST MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE VEHICLE AND A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL ARM MOUNTED ON THE VERTICAL POST ADJACENT THE LOWER EXTREMITY THEREOF FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH TO A POSITION BENEATH THE RAIL FOR CLEARING THE BALLAST THEREUNDER, POWER MEANS FOR MOVING THE CRIBBING ASSEMBLY RELATIVE TO THE VEHICLE, VIBRATING MEANS MOUNTED ON THE CRIBBING ASSEMBLY FOR IMPARTING VIBRATION TO THE HORIZONTAL ARM TO ASSIST THE PASSAGE OF THE SAME TO BALLAST UNDER THE RAIL AND VIBRATION ISOLATING MEANS OPERATIVELY INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE CRIBBING ASSEMBLY AND THE VEHICLE FOR PRECLUDING VIBRATION FROM BEING TRANSMITTED THERETO.

BALLAST CRIBBER 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 25, 1966 mw R NQN NWN QNN

,Jn- `12, 1971 w. P. MCILRATH BALLAST CRIBBER FledFen ze, 196e .3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. P. MCILRATH BALLAST CRIBBER Jan. 12, 1971 Filed Feb. "2e, 1966 SSheets-Sheet 5 /MMM M .L3 A MM 3,553,859 Patented Jan. 12, 1971 i 3,553,859 i BALLAST CRIBBER `William P. Mcllrath, Racine, Wis., assignor to Rex Chainbelt Inc., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Feb. 26, 196s, ser. No.70s,2ss t Int. Cl. E01b 27/04, 37/00 U.VS. CL 37-104 7 Claims ABSTRACT `F vTHE DISCLOSURE Ballast cribbing apparatus including a vehicle having wheels adapted to travel on the rails of a railroad right of way, a cribbing assembly including a generally vertical post mounted for movement relative to the vehicle and a generally horizontal arm mounted on the vertical post adjacent the lower extremityl thereof for movement therewith to a position beneath the rail for clearing the ballast thereunder, power means for moving the cribbing assembly relative to the vehicle, vibrating means mounted on the cribbing assembly for imparting vibration to the horizontal arm to assist the passage of the same to ballast under the rail and vibration isolating means operatively interposedbetween the `cribbing assembly and the vehicle for precluding vibration from being transmitted thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The building and maintenance of railroad vright of ways has long been an expensive and time consuming effort. Until recently, it has been customary for railroads to maintain rather large work forces whose full effort was devoted exclusively to the maintenance and/ or building of railroad right of ways, ,which jobs were done principally by hand manipulated tools. i

However, with the continuing upsurge .in the cost of labor, the railroads have, for reasons of economics, caused a demand for equipment having an ever spiralling degree of automatic sophistication to accomplish the-job more economically and more rapidly.

One of the ltypical jobs involved in the building or maintenance of a railroad right of way, and one which to date has largely been accomplished through the use of manually operated tools of varying complexity, which may be mounted on vehicles, is the placing of rail anchors on oneor both sides of a tie and securing the same to therail so that the. rail will not walk on the tiesvwhen a train is accelerating ordecelerating on the rail. The rail anchors are typically in the nature of an overly large spring clip which is fastened to the base of therail from the underside thereof and frictionally holds the rail against umovement relative to a tie. Since the rail anchors must be applied to `the rails from the underside thereof, it is generally necessary that the ballast on which the right of way is laid be partially removed to facilitate application of the rail anchor. e

In order to partially remove such ballast to facilitate the application of rail anchors to the base of a rail, the prior art has resorted to so-called ballast cribbers which .generally involve` an arcuate arm which is swung beneath the rail and, in the course of such movement, parts thel ballast and partially removes the same such that a rail anchor may be subsequently applied to the base of the rail. While such devices represent an'improvement over the previously employed technique of clearing ballast with hand manipulated tools, prior art ballast cribbers have encountered diiculty inaccomplishing their intended function, particularly as far as the maintenance of an existing railroad right of Way is concerned, insofar as the ballast often tends to become packed and some diculty is experienced in moving the arcuate arm through such packed ballast. When the force necessary to move the cribbing arm through the ballast is applied, the resultant force is transmitted through the Wheels to the i rails and may laterally shift the rails and ties thereby causing poor rail alignment. Furthermore, such prior art ballast cribbers have not been as completely flexible and efficient in operation as might be desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved ballast cribber.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a ballast cribbing apparatus including a vehicle having wheels adapted to travel on the rails of a railroad right of way, a cribbing assembly including a generally vertical post for movement relative to the vehicle and a generally horizontal arm mounted on the vertical post for movement therewith to a position beneath the rail i for moving the ballast thereunder, motor means for moving the cribbing assembly relative to the vehicle, vibrating means mounted on the cribbing assembly for imparting vibration to the horizontal arm to assist passage of the arm through ballast under the rail and vibration isolating means operatively interposed between the cribbing assembly and the vehicle for precluding vibration imparted to the horizontal arm by the vibrating means from being transmitted to the vehicle.

Another object is the provision of a ballast cribber such as that set forth in the preceding paragraph further including a housing at least partially surrounding the vertical post and means movably mounting the housing on the vehicle, with the vibration isolating means including resilient means interposed between the vertical post and the housing.

Yet another object is the provision of a ballast cribber such as that set forth above wherein the horizontal arm is generally arcuate invshape and there is provided means for pivotally mounting the cribbing assembly on the vehicle together with a frame mounted for movement in a vertical direction on the vehicle with the cribbing assembly being pivoted to the frame and motor means for moving the frame on the vehicle in the` vertical direction so that the cribbing assembly may be selectively elevated when the vehicle is in transit.

A still further object is the provision of a ballast cribber such as that set forth in the preceding paragraph wherein the frame is further mounted for pivotal movement about a vertical axis on the vehicle and including e additional motor means for pivoting the frame about the vertical axis whereby the cribbing assembly can be selectively swung from side to side to various locations relative to the vehicle to provide enhanced flexibility of operation.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following specication and drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS hicle so that the cribbing assembly may be elevated selectively and/or swung from side to side relative to the vehicle;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section showing a portion of the cribbing assembly and more specically, a vibration isolating means; and

FIG. 5 is a horizontal section taken approximately along the line 5 5 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An exemplary embodiment of a ballast cribbing apparatus made according to the invention is shown on a railroad right of way in FIG. 1. The apparatus includes a plurality of flanged wheels resting on the upper surface of rails 12 which in turn -are supported by a plurality of ties 14. Ballast is located under and between the ties 14.

The wheels 10 are mouned on a frame generally designated 18 which typically includes an internal combustion engine (not shown) for driving the wheels 10 as well as the hydraulic pump (not shown) for providing tiuid under pressure to the cribbing mechanism.

An operator may be seated on a seat (not shown) on the frame 18 and located within easy reach of the operator are hydraulic controls, generally designated 20, for the apparatus.

The forward end of the frame 118 as seen in FIG. 1 mounts an inverted U-shaped member 22 which, at its upper end, mounts the upper end of a column 24. The column 24 has its lower end secured to the frame 1'8.

The cribbing apparatus includes a cribbing arm 26 which terminates at one end in a pointed cribbing toe 28. The arm 26 is generally arcuate in shape so that it may be swung under the rails 12 by movement about a xed pivot point as will be explained in greater detail hereinafter.

The end of the cribbing arm 26 opposite the cribbing toe 28 mounts vibratory means, generally designated 30, of conventional construction and which typically include one or more eccentric weights on a shaft driven by a motor. In the exemplary embodiment, it is preferred that a hydraulic motor be used to drive the eccentrics; as mentioned previously, a pump mounted on the frame 18 will provide hydraulic fluid under pressure for operating the motor.

Immediately adjacent the vibratory means and between the same and the cribbing toe 28 `there is located a vertical member 32 including vibration isolating means. The purpose of the vibration isolating means is to preclude vibration imparted to the arm 26 by the vibratory means 30 from being transmitted to the frame 1'8 as will become apparent hereinafter.

A generally horizontal arm, generally designated 34 is movably supported on the column 24 and pivotally connected at 36 to the vertical member 32. A diagonally arranged support arm 38 interconnects the column 24 and the horizontal arm 34fto support the latter and is movably mounted on the column 24.

In order to swing the cribbing arm 26 beneath the rail to clear the ballast from under `the same, a hydraulic cylinder -40 is pivotally interposed between one of the column 24 and the horizontal arm '36 and specically, between the column 24 and the vertical member 32. As shown in FIG. 1, extension of the cylinder 40 will cause the cribbing arm 26 to be pivoted about the pivot point 36 to a location under the rail while retraction of the cylinder 40 will withdraw the cribbing arm 26 from under the rail.

IReferring to the cribbing arm 26 as illustrated in FIG. 1, it will be seen to comprise a pair of side plates 42 which are spaced from each other in the horizontal direction. At the end of the arm 26 adjacent the cribbing toe 28, one or more cross plates 44 may be provided to secure the two plates 42 together. Additionally, a generally horizontal plate l46 may be located between the two plates 42 and secured thereto for rigidifying the cribbing arm 26.

At the end of the cribbing arm 26 opposite the cribbing toe 28, there is provided a generally horizontal mounting plate 48 mounting the vibratory means 30. As best illustrated in FIG. 2, `the vibratory means 30 includes a lower, horizontal plate 50 and siutable means such as bolts 52 secure the plate 50 to the mounting plate 48 so that the vibratory means 30 are firmly secured to the cribbing arm 26.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 5, the vertical member 32 is generally tubular in nature and, as illustrated in FIG. 4, telescopingly receives a post 54 which has its lower end secured as by bolts 56 to the cribbing arm 26.

The post 54 is, in actuality, comprised of two spaced plates 58 (FIG. 5) and the plates 58 stand upwardly within the tabular vertical member 32 through almost the entire length of the latter as illustrated in FIG. 4. As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the sides of the plates 58 are spaced substantially inwardly from the inner surfaces of the tubular 4vertical member 32 so as to avoid contacting the same.

Referring specically to FIG. 5, it will be seen that the plates 58 are supported within the tubular vertical member 32 by means of a thin plate 60 which is secured to the side of the tubular member 32 by means of bolts 62 and which has an elongated rubber pad 64 bonded to its interior surface. Bonded, in turn, to the pad 64 is another thin plate 66 and the plates `66 are secured to the respective spaced plates 58 by means of bolts 68.

Another set of rubber pads 70 are mounted within the tubular vertical member 32 by means of a thin plate 72 secured to the tubular member by bolts 74. Again the rubber pad 70 is bonded to the plate 72.

Channels 76 are mounted on the innermost side of the plates 58 as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 and have their legs spaced a distance less than the distance between the opposite ones of the pads 70. The pads 70 are constructed such that the legs of the channel 76 may Contact the same and the resilient nature of the pads 70 will absorb the shock of such contact.

As a result of the just described construction, it will be appreciated that shock and vibration imparted to the cribbing arm 26 either by striking a portion of the railroad right of way or due to vibration imparted thereto by the vibratory means 30 will be isolated from the tubular member 32 by rvirtue of the interposition of the rubber pads 64 and 70. That is, because the post 54 formed of plates 58 is not connected directly to the tubular vertical member 32, but rather, through resilient vibration isolating elements, as the pads 64 and 70, vibration cannot be transmitted to the frame 18 (FIG. l).

In order to pivotally mount the tubular vertical member 32 to the vehicle including the frame 18 by means 0f the horizontal arm 34, the base 78 of a pillow block bearing 80 (FIGS. 1 and 4) is secured to a side of the tubular member 32 by means of a pair of bolts 74. The pivot 36 is provided by means of a pivot pin 82 journalled within the bearing 80 and passing through aligned apertures (not shown) in two plates 84 which make up the arm 34.

The upper end of the tubular vertical member 32 includes a notch 86 through which the piston rod 88 of the cylinder 40 passes. The opposite side of the vertical tubular member 32 includes a similar notch 90 and the piston rod 88 extends therethrough to have its end impaled on a pivot bearing 92 supported by a plate 94 which is secured by bolt 96 to the tubular vertical member 32.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the plates 84 comprising the arm 34 is secured to the column 24 by means of a pivot pin 98 (FIG. 2) extending through an aperture (not shown) in the corresponding plate 84 to be received in the bore 100 of a cylindrical insert 102 received within a circular tube 104. The tube 104 is secured to a circular collar 106 as by welding and the collar 106 is, in turn secured to a movable tube 108 which is telescoped about a stationary tube 110, both tubes comprising the column 24.` The tube 110 in turn is secured to a mounting plate 112 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 and which is mounted on the frame 18. l t

`The diagonal arm 38 is comprised of a pair of plates 114 as seen in FIG. land each has its lower end secured by means of a bolt 116 to the plates 84 comprising the horizontal arm 34 adjacent the pivot 36. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper ends of the plates 114 comprising the diagonal arm 38 are secured to a collar 16 mounted on the movable tube 108 by securing means 118 which is comprised of a construction similar to that provided by e1ements`98, 100, 102, 104 described previously.

The outer surface of the movable tubular member 108 above the collar 116 is smoothly polished and is slidably received in a yoke 120 secured by bolts 122 to the' bight of the inverted U-shaped member 22. The upper end of the movable tubular member 108 is closed by means of an end cap 124 secured to the tubular member 108 by means of bolts 126 and which includes a central, threaded bore 128 for receipt of a threaded adjustment rod 130. A lock nut 132 is also associated with the threaded adjustment rod 130.

The lower end of the stationary tube 110 is closed by means of an end cap 134 which includes a hydraulic fitting 136 communicating with the interior of a hydraulic cylinder 138 located within the column 24. A piston rod 140 associated with the cylinder 138 has its upper end journa'lled in a bearing 142 in a cap 144 Within the interior of a movable tube 108. The arrangement is such that the cap 144 may pivot relative to the piston rod 140 due to the presence of the bearing 142 and is essentially interposed between the upper end of the piston rod 140 and the lower end of the adjustment rod-130i.

As a result of the just described construction, when fluid under pressure is applied through the fitting 136 to the cylinder 138, the resultant upward movement of the piston rod 140 will be transmitted to the cap 144 and the adjusting rod 130 to the end cap 124 and thus to the movable tube 108 to raise the same.

Since the diagonal arm 38 and the horizontal arm 34 are secured by means of the sleeves 106 and 116 to the movable tube 108, the same will rise and thus iboth the tubular vertical member 32 and the cribbing arm 26 will be moved upwardly. When the piston rod 1401 has reached its `maximum upward extent, the cribbing arm 26 will be raised a sucient distance above the railroad right of way for traveling purposes. On the other hand, when the piston rod 140 is retracted to its maximum extent, the cribbing arm 26 will be lowered to a point where it may be swung underneath `the rails 12 to crib the ballast 16 between the ties 14.

In order to control the lowermost position of the cribbing arm 26, the adjustment rod 130 is provided. By threading the adjustment rod 130 more deeply into the end cap 124, the lower-most position of the cribbing arm 26 is raised. Conversely, 'by threading the adjustment rod 130 out of the end cap 124, the lowermost position 0f thev cribbing arm 26 is lowered.

In order to maximize the Versatility of the cribbing apparatus so thatballast under either rail on a right of way may be cribbed without reversing the orientation of the frame 18 on the right of way, the tube 108 is not only slidable longitudinally on the tube 110, but is also rotatable with respect thereto so that the cribbing arm 26 may be pivoted from one side of the right of way to the other or centered between the rails as for traveling purposes. It is for this reason that the bearing 142 is provided.4 In order to simplify pivotal movement f the tube 108 about the tube 110, the lower end of the movable tube 108 mounts a collar 150 which, in turn, supports a sprocket gear 152 as seen in FIG. 3. As best illustrated in FIG. 2, a hydraulic motor 154 is mounted on a support 155 and includes an output shaft I156 having a sprocket (not shown) engaging a chain 157 which is also trained about the sprocket 152. Ihe support is pivotally mounted on the movable tube 108 and includes a guide nger (not shown) received in a vertical slot 158 in plates 159 mounted on the frame 18. As a result of the just described construction, the support 155 and motor 154 may move vertically with the movable tube 108 but are restrained from pivoting with the same by the coaction of the linger (not shown) and the slot 158.

Energization of the hydraulic motor 154 results in the sprocket 152, and thus the movable tube 108, rotating about the tube 1101 when it is desired to shift the cribbing arm 26 from one side of the railroad right of way to the other or to locate the cribbing arm 26 between the rails. Of course, in order to maximize the efficiency of the arrangement, the column 24 is centrally oriented on the front edge of the frame 18.

In order to steady the cribbing apparatus during operation thereof, track gripping brake means are provided. Diagonally depending supports 160 are provided on each side of the frame 18 as shown in FIG. 2 and at the lower` extremity of each support 160 there is provided a pivot 162 which pivotally mounts a hook member 164. The arrangement is such that the hook member 164 may be swung beneath the upper portion of each rail 12 to irmly grip the same. In order to provide swinging action of the hook members 164, hydraulic cylinders 166 are pivotally mounted to the frame 18 and their piston rods 168 have their ends pivotally secured to the respective hook members 164. Thus, by extending the piston rod 168, the hook members 164 may be swung downwardly to rmly engage the rails 12 and effectively lock the vehicle against movement on the rails 12.

The operation of the cribbing apparatus is as follows. By appropriate operation of the drive means for the wheels 10, the Vehicle may be located such that the cribbing arm 26 will be between adjacent ties 14. At this time, the vibratory means 30 are energized and fluid under pressure is applied to the hydraulic cylinder 40 to cause the same to extend the piston rod 88 thereby pivoting the tubular vertical member 32 about the pivot 36 in a counter-clockwise direction. Such action will cause the cribbing arm 26 to be driven through the ballast 16 between adjacent ties to clear the same for subsequent application of a rail anchor or the like to the rail 12. During movement of the cribbing :arm 26, the vibratory motion imparted thereto by the vibratory means 30 assists and speeds the passage of the cribbing arm 26 through the ballast 16.

Once the cribbing arm 26 has passed through the ballast 16 to the desired extent, hydraulic uid under pressure may be applied t0 the other end of the cylinder 40 thereby causing the piston rod 88 to be retracted within the cylinder 40. As a result, the tu'bular vertical mem- `ber 32 will be swung about the pivot 36- in a clockwise direction thereby withdrawing the cribbing arm 26 from its position underlying the rail 12. The retracted position of the cribbing arm 26 is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2. Thereupon, the operator may move the vehicle to align the cribbing arm 26 between the next series of ties or, alternatively, pivot the movable tube 108 about the tube 110 thereby swinging the arms 34 and 38 and the tubular vertical member 32 and the cribbing arm 26 about the `frame 18 to crib the ballast under the other rail at the same location.

Finally, when the cribbing job has been completed,

and the operator desires to return the vehicle to a prepivot about the tube 110 to a point where the cribbing arm 26 is located between the rails 12 in an elevated position for traveling. Thereupon, the operator may energize the drive for the wheels and cause the vehicle to travel to the desired location.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the invention provides a highly versatile ballast cribber `which may be used with great flexibility. Even more importantly, use of vibratory means in conjunction with the cribbing arm together with vibration isolating means enhances the capability of the apparatus to perform its basic intended function, namely, cribbing ballast. In the performance of such a function, the vibration imparted to the cribbing arm by the vibratory means significantly increases the ability of the cribbing arm 26 to pass through packed or crusted ballast while the vibration isolating means insures that vibration will not be transmitted to the vehicle to cause deterioration thereof or unduly fatigue the operator.

Because the ability of the cribbing arm to pass through packed or crusted ballast is enhanced by the vibration imparted thereto, a significantly lesser force is required to move the arm through the ballast. As a result, the use of a ballast cribber made according to the invention does not cause poor rail alignment due to lateral shifting of the rails and ties thereby obviating a problem present in the use of prior art devices.

Having described a specific embodiment of my invention as required by U.S.C. 112, I do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but rather, to have my invention construed as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. Ballast cribbing apparatus comprising: a vehicle having wheels and adapted to travel on a pair of spaced rails of a railroad right of way; a cribbing assembly including a generally vertical post mounted for movement relative to said vehicle and a generally horizontal arm mounted on said vertical post adjacent the lower extremity thereof for 'movement with said vertical post to a position beneath a rail for removing the ballast thereunder; motor means for pivoting said cribbing assembly relative to said vehicle to move said cribbing assembly beneath a rail; vibrating means mounted on said cribbing assembly for imparting vibration to said horizontal arm to assist the passage of said horizontal arm through ballast under the rail; and vibration isolating means operatively interposed between said cribbing assembly and said vehicle for precluding vibration imparted to said horizontal arm by said vibrating means from being transmitted to said vehicle, said cribbing assembly being mounted on said vehicle for vertical and for pivotal movement about a fixed vertical axis centrally located with respect to said vehicle, and motor means selectively operable to raise and lower said cribbing assembly relative to said vehicle and to pivot said cribbing assembly about said vertical axis whereby said cirbbing assembly may be raised for traveling purposes, lowered for ballast cribbing and located at a plurality of positions relative to the vehicle for traveling purposes and for cribbing the ballast under either of said spaced rails.

2. A ballast cribbing apparatus comprising:

(a) a frame having an end,

(b) wheels on said frame and adapted to support the frame on a railroad right of way,

(c) a vertical column centrally mounted on the end of said frame and including,

(1) a first tube fixed to said frame, (2) a second tube, slidably and pivotally telescoped on said first tube, and (3) reciprocating means for sliding said second tube on said first tube,

(d) means for pivoting said second tube on said first tube, and

(e) a cribbing assembly movably mounted on said second tube for movement therewith to either side of Said right of way and including,

(l) a cribbing arm movable beneath a rail to crib the ballast thereunder,

(2) means for moving said cribbing arm beneath a rail,

(3) means for imparting vibration to said cribbing arm, and

(4) means for precluding the transmission of vibrations from said arm to said column,

(f) whereby said cribbing assembly may be swung to either side of said right of way to fbe pivoted under the corresponding rail to part the ballast thereunder.

3. The ballast cribbing apparatus of claim 2 wherein said cribbing assembly is mounted on said second tube by a generally horizontal arm and further includes a tubular housing pivoted on said horizontal arm, the cribbing arm being secured to said housing by means of a post extending into said tubular housing, said precluding means comprising energy absorbing elements interconnecting said post and said housing, and said moving means comprising a motor capable of imparting reciprocating motion interposed between said housing and one of said column and said horizontal arm.

4. The ballast cribbing apparatus of claim 3 wherein said cribbing arm includes a first end terminating in a cribbing toe and a second end, said vibration imparting means being mounted on said second end, and said post being secured to said cribbing arm intermediate said ends.

5. A ballast cribbing apparatus comprising: a frame having a end; wheels on said frame and adapted to support the frame on a railroad right of way; a vertical column centrally mounted on the end of said frame and including a first cylindrical tube fixed to said frame, a second cylindrical tube vertically slidable and pivotally telescoped on said first tube, and means including a motor capable of imparting reciprocating motion located within said first tube and operatively interconnecting said first and second tubes for reciprocating said second tube on said first tube; vertically movable motor means drivingly connected to said second tube and movable therewith in a vertical direction for pivoting said second tube on said first tube; a cribbing assembly movably mounted on said second tube for reciprocating and pivotal movement therewith by a generally horizontal extending arm, said cribbing assembly including a tubular housing, pivot means pivotally interconnecting said housing to said horizontal arm, a cribbing arm including a first end terminating in a cribbing toe and a second end, a post secured to said cribbing arm intermediate said first and second ends and extending into said tubular housing, whereby said cribbing arm is movable about the pivotal axis of said pivot means beneath a rail to crib the ballast thereunder; motor means capable of imparting reciprocating motion interposed between said housing and one of said column and said horizontal arm for moving said cribbing arm beneath a rail; means mounted on said cribbing arm adjacent said second end for imparting vibration to said cribbing arm to assist the passage of the same through ballast beneath a rail when the arm is being moved beneath a rail; and means for precluding the transmission of vibration imparted to said cribbing arm from said arm to said column and including a plurality of resilient, energy absorbing elements interposed between said post and said housing whereby vibration is not imparted to said frame to cause fatigue to the operator of said apparatus and to prolong the useful life of the apparatus.

6. Ballast cribbing apparatus comprising: a vehicle having wheels and adapted to travel on a pair of spaced rails of a railroad right of way; a cribbing assembly including a generally vertical post and a generally horizontal cribbing arm mounted on said vertical post adjacent the lower extremity thereof for movement with said vertical post to a position beneath a rail for removing the ballast thereunder; vibrating means mounted on said cribbing assembly for imparting vibration to said horizontal arm to assist the passage of said horizontal arm through ballast under the rail; an elongated, vertical, tubular housing having a generally vertical tubular axis pivotally mounted on said vehicle, said vertical post being located within said housing and extending along said tubular axis; motor means for pivoting said cribbing assembly relative to said vehicle to move said cribbing assembly beneath a rail; and vibration isolating means operatively interposed between said cribbing assembly and said vehicle for precluding vibration imparted to said horizontal arm by said vibrating means from being transmitted to said vehicle and including a plurality of vertically spaced resilient elements located on the inner surface of said tubular hous- `ing and in contact with both said housing and said post.

7. Ballast cribbing apparatus comprising: a frame, a generally horizontal cribbing arm having an end terminating in a cribbing toe for parting and partially removing ballast beneath the rails of a railroad right of way and mounted on said frame for generally horizontal movement beneath a rail; means for moving said cribbing arm beneath a rail; means for imparting vibration to said cribbing arm; means for isolating vibration imparted to said cribbing arm from said fra-me; said cribbing arm having another end opposite said rst named end with said vibration imparting means being mounted on said another end; means mounting said cribbing arm for pivotal movement about a vertical axis centrally located with respect to an end of said frame; means for pivoting said cribbing arm about said axis; said mounting means additionally mounting said cribbing arm for movement in a vertical direction along said vertical axis and relative to said frame; and means for selectively moving said cribbing arm in said vertical direction whereby said cribbing arm may be selectively raised and lowered and swung to either side of the frame to crib the ballast under either one of the spaced rails of a railroad right of way.

References Cited ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner C. D. CROWDER, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 

